Good morning, good afternoon. And for those joining from New York at 5AM, that alone tells me something important. You already understand resilience.My name is Sandrine Ponce, and over the past thirty years, have led transformation across organizations like SAP, and today, SNP group. And if there is one truth that I learned across continents, industries, and crisis, It's this. Transformation does not fail because of strategy. It fails because of culture. And culture? Culture is not built in boardroom. It's good in the moments where no one is watching. Let me take you, to one of both moments. Not a big meeting. Not a strategic workshop. A hallway. A young woman stopped me and said, I have ideas, but I don't think this is a place where I can save them. Think about that for a second. Not a lack of talent, not a lack of ambition, a lack of safety.

And in that moment, I realized something that changed how I lead. Organizations don't lose innovation because people lack the ideas. They lose it because people don't feel safe enough to share them. That's where resilience begins. Not in systems, not in frameworks, We're really encouraged. We are living in a paradox: the tech industry is building the future. But many organizations are still operating with cultural models from the past. We say we want innovation but we want predictability. We say we value diversity but we avoid discomfort. We say we are agile but we resist questioning what made us successful. And here is the consequence: When culture does not evolve at the same speed as technology, innovation slows down, decision making weakens and talent disengages.

And resilience, it becomes more a slogan instead of a capability. So let's talk about courage now. Not the kind you see in headlines, the kind you practice on a Tuesday morning. Courage in leadership looks like saying I don't know, when you are expecting to have all the answers. Listening to perspectives that challenge your own, sponsoring someone who doesn't fit the traditional mode, questioning a model that is still delivering results but won't tomorrow. Because without courage, leaders default to control and control feels safe, but it has a hidden cost. Control produces spaces and without spaces there is no innovation. Courage creates space and space allows new ideas, new voices, new solutions to emerge. Let's be very clear. Diversity is not a moral initiative.

It's a strategic advantage, but only if it's activated. Because diversity without inclusion becomes optics and inclusion without courage becomes science. In my experience leading global teams across Europe, Asia and The US, the most innovative environments were not the most comfortable ones. They were the most constructively challenging, where people could disagree, where perspectives collided, where ideas were tested, not protected. Because innovation is not born from alignment. It's born from intelligent tension. So how do we make this real? Let me share and give you five practical shifts. Number one, be psychological safety as a leadership behavior, not as a value on the wall, but really, more as something people feel in every interaction. Number two, move from mentorship to sponsorship. Mentorships advises. Sponsorship opens doors. If you want diversity to scale, sponsor boldly. Number three: Normalize courageous conversations.

Avoiding tension does not create harmony, it creates silence and silence kills innovation. Number four, design inclusion into decision making. Who is invited? Who is heard? Who influences the outcomes? That's where culture becomes measurable. Number five: connect culture to business impact. If culture is not linked to performance, it will never be prioritized. Resilient cultures are not just inclusive, they are high performing ecosystems. So let me leave you with this: Think about your organization. Think about your team. Think about the conversations that are not happening because culture is not defined by what we said in meetings by what we said in meetings. It's defined by what we allow in the moments between them. And transformation? Transformation doesn't start with a strategy. It starts with a decision. A decision to create space, a decision to listen differently, a decision to lead with courage. Because when people feel safe, they don't just contribute, they innovate.

And when they innovate, organizations don't just adapt to the future, they really build it. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Sandrine, for that wonderful talk. And you you touched on so many important points there around psychological safety. It's absolutely vital in order for organizations to thrive, and courage really does create that space. There's some wonderful comments already being left, and we encourage you if you have any questions for Sandrine, please do put them in the chat as we'd love to get them answered. We have one from Kim. Sandrine, can you explain how to live this psychological safety for someone in a leadership position?

That's a very good one. I think that you need to be, very open and have very active listening. I think that's very key and very, important. Leave a space for everyone to contribute. Don't think about the answer, before very someone, feels safe to ask you any other question. That I think very important. Leaders doesn't have all the answers, and it's really important to have everybody, with you and following you and also participating and and help you to innovate more and more. So that would be my my really answers. And be attentive to the offers, caring about each others.